FBI Veterans Indicted Over 2023 Testimony

Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides stood before a federal magistrate judge on Friday morning after the Justice Department formally charged the two former FBI executives with perjury. The indictment alleges that both men intentionally misled the House Judiciary Committee regarding their involvement in investigations related to Hunter Biden and his laptop. Following a brief court appearance, both defendants were released.

The charges target Floris, who formerly led the intelligence division in the FBI’s Washington field office, and Benavides, a former deputy assistant director for counterintelligence. Prosecutors say Floris denied any role in the Hunter Biden cases during her 2023 testimony. According to an FBI affidavit, she maintained frequent contact with the case team for over a year, sending and receiving information about the former vice president’s son. The document further claims she coordinated the bureau’s response to media reports about the laptop in real time, despite testifying she knew nothing about the device.

Benavides faced separate allegations for his testimony a few months after Floris. He told the committee he had little knowledge of the matter and claimed he learned about the laptop from a Wikipedia entry while preparing his answers. The affidavit counters this by stating he was in constant communication about the laptop over a period of days. A member of the Judiciary Committee said these answers shaped the inquiry, preventing follow-up interviews and subpoenas.

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office is leading the prosecution. In a statement, Pirro said the pair undermined the institutions they sworn to protect. She argued that when senior agents believe they are above the law, it is time to bring the hammer of justice down on them. Both Floris and Benavides face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Defense attorneys for Floris rejected the government’s case. They stated the Department of Justice accused her falsely based on the say-so of politicians rather than facts. Their team described Floris as a patriot who served as an FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years. They noted it was no coincidence that these charges were filed years later, on the eve of an election. Ron Safer, Benavides’ attorney, urged the court to hold a hearing on whether prosecutors had sufficient evidence against two lifetime public servants.

US Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui raised concerns about the timing of the indictment. He noted that the charges came more than three years after the original testimony. Faruqui granted the defense’s request for a hearing to weigh the government’s evidence, a step typically expected later in such proceedings. He described the move as rare given the age and nature of the charges. The judge also noted that both defendants had sparkling backgrounds in law enforcement and a strong interest in clearing their names quickly.

The laptop at the center of the legal dispute has been a partisan flashpoint for years. Republicans argue it contains evidence of corruption within the Biden family. Democrats view it as part of a Republican conspiracy. The device was handed to the FBI in 2019 after a computer shop owner said Hunter Biden dropped it off and never returned to collect it. The owner told the Washington Post he turned it over to authorities after viewing some of its contents.

The indictment arrives as many FBI agents have been pushed out of the bureau since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. Allies of the president accused some of these agents of working against him. Several dismissed employees say they were fired because they worked on investigations involving Trump. Others claim they were removed for not showing enough loyalty to the administration.